Tag Archives: Keith Bradley

As we complete RELIANCE, several of our team are moving on to their next Museum projects.

Shown here, we’ve been stripping WEE WINN, a lovely “half rater” from 1892. It is a bulb fin keel boat built for Englishwoman Miss Winifred Sutton. She raced WEE WINN in Cowes that year, winning 20 of 21 races.

Our RELIANCE, WEE WINN, and steam launch #199 projects have attracted a new group of volunteers, and it’s exciting to feel their fresh enthusiasm and energy. Several are machinist artisans whose skills will be important to make a rudder and tiller for WEE WINN and to complete steam launch plumbing; you may remember that last year, volunteer Don Berrett restored a triple expansion steam engine which fits #199.

Finally, after an arduous and careful trip down Burnside Street, the RELIANCE entered the museum’s large doors to find a new home within the Hall of Boats.

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Then, it was on to rigging and mini-exhibits. RELIANCE will remain in this spot until opening day, when it is moved to its new temporary exhibit area in the back of the Hall of Boats and rigged with mast. Full rig will have to wait until the new atrium is built; it’s too tall by a dozen feet for this hall!

Before we show you our move to the main museum building, we thought it would be fun to remember the first move. We’d been working on wooden spars for about 8 months and wondering whether we’d be building our own hull, when from heaven and Halsey’s 2nd-floor shop there emerged a pristine white hull.

March 2013.

You may remember that old, gray working cradle in which RELIANCE sat for all those years. Now, almost three years later, we’re taking the completed hull down Burnside St., past Halsey’s shop and to the Museum…

Fast Forward:

Early in the A.M., before the crew arrived, Sandy was completing last minute details to the fantail.

Soon, Capt. Trivia waved that he was ready and the crew slowly moved RELIANCE to the street where it was turned and positioned for the journey downhill under Keith’s direction. Note Sandy and Bill looking on their cellphones for the latest on weather, spiritual guidance, and whether Ford would show up for a promotion video: “F-150 prevents 169-ton boat from careening out of control.”

Please come and join the Herreshoff Museum and RELIANCE crew at the Frostbite Bash on February 6th!! There will be dancing, food, and the RELIANCE model set up in the museum in anticipation of opening day. It will be a wonderfully fun, two-for-one opportunity you can’t miss!

Great work session this past week; Keith and Sandy hung the rudder, Steve completed a dozen shackles, Herb completed several more splices, and Bill started the viewing stand. We’re on schedule to move RELIANCE to the Hall of Boats for the Frostbite Bash!

Please come and see our boat at the Bash! A sneak peek before we rig her.
PS: Enclosed is a picture of our new Executive Washroom; better late than never!

Work has been progressing over this early winter on all the details of the rigging; the blocks, splicing, and making up the shackles are all getting done. We recently dry-fitted the main sheet system. You can see Herb in the background making a micro-splice. Poor guy!

The Saturday crew has been working with extra gusto!
Laura completed all splices for the two topmast backstay runners and started the wire-manila peak halyard tail splice. Joe has been repainting the deck which, over the past two years in the shed, has become shop worn; Bern has been helping with making blocks.

Meanwhile, Burr delivered his latest masterpiece: the topmast cone assembly. You may remember that last fall, Bill fashioned the lignum vitae truck, and several years ago, Mike cast a topmast cone. Well, Burr took those pieces, machined the cone, then made the topsail halyard sheave and metal housing, and assembled everything together. We couldn’t even find the housing solder joint. So awesome!

Laura made boom lift pennants and a peak halyard pennant. These doubled-over wires are made similarly to grommets: an endless loop of wire seized together at the thimbles at each end. Thimbles at the mast are directly attached to the mast eyes with no shackles, so Laura makes up the wire on the mast.

Sandy has been fabricating blocks; shown here are the eight 14″ blocks on RELIANCE, six including a double block for the main sheet (the other two are for the peak and throat jigs at the base of the mast).

Bern routed out grooves for the straps and the strippers in the base of the block.